It's Always the End of the World Somewhere
by Suz24
Summary: December 21st, 2012. Dean goes on a hunt and faces the end of the world. One shot


**Just posted this on tumblr, thought I'd leave it here well as well. Have a happy apocalypse/holiday season! **

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The world doesn't end on December 21st. At least not for the 6 billion people who aren't Dean Winchester.

It's a normal hunt, nothing special about a small nest of vampires. Dean's lost count of how many he's beheaded, on both purgatory and earth. They don't seem that endangered when it feels like Dean's kills them by the dozens.

Sam hasn't spoken to him in weeks, not since the incident with Amelia. He'll get over it, Dean tells himself. They've forgiven each other for much worse.

Cas is there too and Dean tells him to go with Sam this time. Dean doesn't need back-up for a vampire nest, they're a piece of cake.

The snow is falling heavily. Sticking to the ground making it slightly harder to keep completely silent. He makes it so there's no soft crunch as his boots hit the snow, a skill that once seemed so difficult to him comes easily now.

The worn down cabin the nest is currently residing is only a few yards away. The light coming out of the window is dim, if Dean didn't know better he'd imagine a family sitting in there, maybe having a cup of hot chocolate in the cold weather. Maybe he'd even long for that kind of normalcy, but those days and dreams are long gone. The fact he can never go back to that kind of life, like the one he had with Lisa, doesn't bother him anymore. He's a hunter, always will be.

"I'll go in through the back, you two take the front entrance." Dean whispers, directing them to go on his command. Sam and Castiel nod in acknowledgement and begin stalking towards the nest.

Dean estimates there are three in there and maybe another three out of view. Most vampires have a mate, it's safer to assume there's another few for each vampire.

Dean sneaks around back while keeping protective eyes on Sam and Cas. They all trade a meaningful glance before Dean moves out of sight around back. In a few seconds, Sam will storm in with Castiel on his heels. Dean will come in through the window, the curtains are slightly shuttered but he can see the three unarmed and watching TV, as if they don't have a care in the world and going around munching on people is normal.

He supposes there is some hypocrisy in his hatred for them, but he ignores it and charges into the scene as he hears Sam storm in.

There's the crash of glass as he breaks the window, completely ignoring the feel of glass making tiny slashes on his skin. It doesn't hurt a bit anyway.

Dean beheads the first one, a female with black hair, as Sam fires his shotgun at the large male who's now growling furiously at Dean. He doesn't seem surprised.

Dean aims his machete at the other female in his way, but she's fast and manages to halt his advances with a kick to his knees, sending him to the ground. Dean rises instantly, barely phased. The female produces a shotgun from underneath the couch and grins menacingly. Dean's eyes widen in surprise, ducking as she fires a shot at him.

On the other side of the room, Castiel and Sam have decapitated the male and are working on a fourth vamp that seemed to have come from another room. He's male also, and furious. Must've been mated to the one Dean killed.

The male produces an odd looking sword from his belt and Dean gasps in recognition. How did a vampire get a hold of an angel sword?

"Cas, watch it!" Dean shouts over the growling vampires.

"We were expecting you." The female says, drawing his attention back to his target. "You Winchesters and the angel are _finished_."

Dean ignores her words, anger coursing through him as he swipes repeatedly. He misses, but nicks her on the third thrust of his machete. She takes a moment to gauge her injuries and Dean uses that to remove her head.

There's a large amount of satisfaction in hearing her head thump to the floor, but it's short lived as he sees vampires, dozens of them, running towards them from outside the window.

"Run." Dean commands.

Castiel and Sam glance towards the oncoming danger and don't waste anymore time with the vampire.

Dean leads out the window he came from, only to find himself met with another wave of vamps surrounding the cabin.

So it's a fight they want.

Dean feels like he's in purgatory all over again as he barrels through the vampires, letting his instincts take over. He barely flinches as heads drop one by one. This is what he's born to do, kill as many of these evil bastards as he can.

Dean's blind until Cas's voice rising in panic brings Dean out of his tunnel vision. "Sam!"

Dean turns, taking in the scene before him. Sam's pinned, two vampires on his neck. Castiel surrounded by another three, one of them with an angel sword.

There's not enough time and Dean knows it, but it doesn't stop him as his legs pump like the pistons of an engine. There's adrenaline and there's blinding white anger as he sprints towards them. If Cas can just hold them off for one more sec—

The sword is pushed through Castiel's heart, all the way up to the hilt. Light beams out from the wound. Cas looks shocked, but ignores his attacker and turns to Sam. Dean can see how Cas feebly attempts to pull the other vamps off Sam. His arms shake and tremble as he struggles to save Sam. Dean feels dread pool through his system as Cas's grace flares brightly, before flickering once and dimming.

Castiel meet's Dean's eyes and he can see from the way they fill with a billion years of knowledge, violence, and love, like his life is flashing before his eyes. There's apology there too and maybe even a hint of relief. It distracts Dean for a moment, but he knows there's no time.

Castiel falls to his knees as Dean beheads two of the attacking vampires. He wants to do more than that, but Sam.

Dean doesn't hesitate in pulling the bloodthirsty things off him and beheading them with ease.

"Sam? Sammy." Dean crouches beside his brother's still form. His neck ripped and bloody. He can recover right? They cured Dean from vampirism, they can do it again. Sam's recovered from fighting the devil for Christ's sake, this is nothing-

But Sam's not breathing, there's no pulse in his chest.

The remaining vampires are closing in.

Cas can heal him, he has too.

Dean turns around reaching for Cas who's body lays twitching in the snow, which has turned red from all the blood.

Dean cradles his body to his, Castiel's eyes are still open, just barely. There's a tiny sliver of light, losing it's brightness by the second. "Cas? Cas, you gotta fix him. I can't…he's not breathing. Cas? You can't die on me, you gotta fix Sam." Dean says in desperate breaths. In the back of his mind he can see how the only two things that matter are slipping through his fingers. He's fought so hard, he can't lose them, not after everything.

"Dean…I'm sorry." Castiel chokes out wetly. It sounds like he has internal bleeding. Can angels have that? Why isn't Cas healing?

"Cas…" Dean's words die in his throat as a impossible scalding heat burns across his skin. Dean cries out in agony, it's too much and he backs away from Cas's now lifeless body.

Dean glances down to put out the fire only to see hot ash caked across his skin and clothes. It doesn't take Dean any more time to figure it out then. The designs across his skin are unmistakable. He knows that if he were to look in the mirror right now he'd see the remnants of Castiel's wings across his chest and blistering his face.

That's when Dean stands, glancing back towards Sam hoping to see a small movement, a breath. Something. _Anything_.

There's nothing.

The remaining vampires make the horrible mistake of going in for the attack as Dean's world is imploding. Blood-lust coils in his veins and he attacks blindly. Snapping all the cords of humanity in him as he tears his opponents apart.

He has too, he can't feel right now. With his world lying bloody on the ground and his heart sitting in ash, he can't risk feeling anything. Whatever pain lies there, cannot be touched or he'll die without vengeance.

Dean's greatly outnumbered. He doesn't care.

It doesn't matter, because there's nothing left no matter if he lives or dies.

For him, the world has already ended.


End file.
